CLEMSON, S.C. -- Gabby Elliott scored a game high 23 points to propel Clemson to an 83-43 victory over Furman in the 2020-21 women's basketball season opener for both teams Wednesday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Elliott, a freshman guard, connected on 9-of-14 shots and accounted for 16 of her 23 points in the second half, helping the Tigers (1-0) extend a 37-21 halftime advantage.

Furman (0-1) was paced by senior All-Southern Conference small forward Tierra Hodges, who tallied her 14th career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.  Guard Sydney James, among eight freshmen dotting the Paladins' roster, scored 11 points in her collegiate debut.

Furman trailed 15-12 after one period and used a Celena Taborn layup to open the second quarter to make it 15-14, but Clemson responded with 12-1 run, fueled by a pair of Elliott layups to take a 27-15 lead following an Amari Robinson 3-pointer with 4:30 to go in the first half.

Delicia Washington (14 points) and Weronkia Hipp (11 points) rounded out the double figure scoring trio for Clemson, which shot 49.3 percent for the game (31x63) and made 7-of-17 3-pointers (.389).

Furman shot just 27.9 percent from the field, making good on 17-of-61 attempts.

The Paladins return to action on Dec. 1 when they play host to Presbyterian at Timmons Arena in a 7:00 p.m. contest.